On her second visit to Bangladesh for attending the Dhaka International Film Festival, Dhaka Tribune caught up with film director and writer Clementine Ederveen, who is currently a jury member of the 13th DIFF. In the exclusive interview, Clementine shares her experience as a filmmaker and more.
Tell us about yourself and your work.
I am a film director, writer and producer from the Netherlands. Now I run my own production house for guiding young filmmakers and providing them with a platform to work on. Previously, I have worked with other producing companies. So far, I have directed seven films with my company and most of them are films on Buddhism and its perspectives. I have chosen to work in the Buddhist outlook as it is a peaceful concept and is nonviolent. Very few works are available on this outlook, so, I have worked on various communities and countries such as Tibet, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.
Will you share a story of one of your films?
My film Kindness, a Letter from Tibet was screened at Dhaka International Film Festival last year. The film portrays a young woman who lives in the Netherlands and faced dire situations in Tibet earlier. This film portrays an elaborate journey in the search of wisdom. I was unable to conduct shooting in Tibet, therefore I filmed it in Ladakh and the Netherlands.
Do you follow any technique of filmmaking or make films your own way?
Yes, I like to make my films in my own way and of course I want to share my devotion for the South American literature, whose authors and artists have used much potential of imagination. Among them, Frida Cahlo is quite unique, for she was able to express her feelings and emotions with her wonderful works, she is my source of inspiration.
As a woman filmmaker, did you face difficulties in the Netherlands or elsewhere?
I feel lucky that I was brought up in a country where I did not face such situations. Yesterday, we talked about this issue at the International Conference on Women in Cinema and also the differentiation of cinematic language and technique of storytelling of women and men.
Dhaka International Film Festival is not new for you. How do you assess its arrangement, participation and prospect?
This is my second time here and I like the spirit, dynamics, effort of the festival, how it is arranged and the participation of all the people from Bangladesh.
